


Good Employees

by DeQuidt



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions, Pokemon
Genre: Aether Foundation, Death, Gen, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-19
Updated: 2016-10-19
Packaged: 2018-08-23 10:54:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,602
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8325073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DeQuidt/pseuds/DeQuidt
Summary: Faba laments his lack of suitable employees.[Branch-chief--Faba on Tumblr]





	

Getting a job as a back alley doctor was never a problem. He worked alone. He worked fast. He worked with out mess. When he moved and he got a job at the Foundation they were against his ‘I work alone’ policy. They forced him to get two employees to assist him with whatever he needed.

At first, he wanted to protest but it’s hard to go against Foundation money. He was told that he was more than welcome to work on his side projects. The foundation would even sponsor him as long as he did his work for the foundation. They didn’t question what he was doing in his free time, which worked out perfectly for him. So to show his gratitude for the foundation he gritted his teeth and started to interview employees.

He wasn’t picky. Which meant he was very picky. He spend night upon night reading all the employees files. Where did they come from? How old are they? What was their relationship status? He couldn’t have people running off after a marriage or worse; leaving work due to pregnancy. Faba didn’t dislike children. It’s just that he didn’t understand them. He found them messy and rude. Still, he would always be polite and be an excellent doctor even towards the little ankle biters. If his employee would end up pregnant she would bring her spawn to work sooner or later and he didn’t want to deal with the mess it brought.

Every time he reached the bottom of the employee list he had to start over. None of them stood out, none of them seemed like they would be worth his time. Every time he started over he lowered his standards. After two weeks of almost sleepless nights he found two that he could tolerate. On paper they seemed decent but he wished to speak to them first. He decided that he wanted to speak to them alone first. Then together. Then, if he still thought it could work, he would let them work with him for a month. After that, and only after that, he would consider calling them his ‘assistants.’

The two people he chose were a man and a woman. The woman was called Duri. She was young, in her 20s. She had no relationship and always stayed in late, at least according to her file. Faba took this as a sign that she was lonely and rather stayed in at work than be home alone. The man went by the name of Ji. He just broke up with his partner of 6 years. He lived alone and was native to this region. While the idea of this man just getting out of a relationship irked Faba, he also figured that the man probably didn’t want to start a new relationship soon. Which was good.

Neither of them had any medical experience. Which was good. This way they wouldn’t ask any questions. He remembered how he worked with Q back in the day. The child didn’t know anything about anything but worked hard and did as he was told. Faba was hoping he could establish that same work relationship with these two characters.

He had send them an e-mail notifying them of their appointment with him. If they would show up late. They would fail his test immediately. If they showed up too early he took this a sign of them being a little bit to noisy or them wanting to please him. He couldn’t decide which reason he disliked the most. He found people working hard to impress their superiors pathetic. Nothing was going to change their relationship anyway so why try and suck up to people? //Don’t degrade yourself like that// He often thought to himself. //You look disgusting//

A knock on the door snapped him back to reality. He was lost in thought again. Thinking about all the questions he would like to ask them. He stood up and opened the door. Sure enough there were two people there, a man and a woman. The woman was slightly out of breath. The man had beads of sweat on his forehead but seemed to be more or less okay.

Faba felt a smile creping unto his face. He knew why they were so out of breath and sweaty. He send the e-mail to meet him not 5 minutes ago. He figured that, if they failed to show up, he could use this as an excuse towards the Foundation and as proof that he should work alone. While he was a little disappointed that they had shown up he also felt a bit of pride that they managed to make it in time. Perhaps this would not be such a bad idea after all. Even if they proved to be completely useless he could still use them for his personal entertainment.

“Duri, you are up first.” There was no real reason behind this. Other than that her name stare with a D. Which came before J in the alphabet. “You. Stay here and wait till I come to collect you.” He ordered the man. Ji just nodded his head in response. So far Faba liked Ji the best. He did was he was told and only that. He didn’t sit down he didn’t speak. He just did.

He turned to look at the woman. She was definitely nervous. Her fingers were intertwined, her eyes big and she was breathing from her upper body instead of her lower. He took a step aside so she could pass him as he made a head motion to signal her it was okay to enter his office.

He followed her, closely keeping an eye on her. He made mental notes of her body language and the way she walked.

“Sit.” He said suddenly. The poor woman in his presence leaped up a bit when she heard his voice. Scared easily. Faba thought to himself. That is not good.

He watched her sit down and making an attempt at making herself seem smaller. He stood behind her. “Do you want to be here?” He asked her.

“No.” She put both her hands in front of her mouth, regretting what she just said. Faba on the other hand, couldn’t be more thankful. “Why is that?”

Her voice sounded dry and soft. “I.. I don’t get why I need to be here. I’m not sick.” Faba started to appreciate her more and more. She was honest. It was true that she, nor her companion outside had any idea on why they were here. He also knew that, even though he was respected due to his position, most of the employees still feared him. He would mind their fear but this time it was justified.

He walked towards the back of her chair and put his slender fingers on her shoulders. Why he himself hated being touched he felt like he needed to test the way she reacted. Her reaction was predictable. Her entire body stiffened under his touch. “You’re not here for medical treatment. It is as you said. You are not sick.” He let go of her and took his seat in front of her. “But.. I require an assistant.”

“I don’t have any medical experience.” She immediately snapped at him. “I would get in the way for sure!”

Now he intertwined his fingers. He put his elbows up on his desk and let his chin rest on the bridge he made with his fingers. “Don’t you want to learn? Don’t you want to grow within the foundation?”

She thought about her answer for a bit. “Of course.. and I would be honored to be taught all that but don’t you need training? Medical school?”

“Correct. It does help if one has had medical training but here is the thing. You only start learning by doing it.” He lowered his hands. “See it as anything. The books and the training are nice but when the real deal starts; that’s when you start learning. So I thought, why bother you with al that school nonsense. How about some on the job training?” He gave her a warm smile. There was no need for her to know the real reason why he didn’t want her to have any medical experience.

“I.. guess?” She was still twirling her fingers. She was still nervous.

“If you don’t want-“

“No!” She interrupted him. “I mean. I would love the opportunity but isn’t there someone more qualified than I am? From the top of my head I can name a few-”

“No need.” Now it was his time to interrupt her. “I’ve already made up my mind. You and the person outside are the only two.”

She looked at him, clearly wanting to ask something. Faba guessed she wanted to know why. Well, let her wonder.

“You stay in late, every single day that you work. Why is that?”

She let her body relax a little bit. Her hands now resting in her lap. “Well I don’t have much going on besides my job so I rather stay here and be useful than go home and do nothing.”

“No family, then?”

“Oh, I’m not from here. I moved some time ago.”

“Why?”

“I moved for someone I cared about.. but it didn’t work out. So now I’m here.”

“And your family?” He was getting more invested in her with every sentence she spoke.

“They.. they live back home. I don’t have a lot of contact with them anymore. How about you?” The question was out before she even knew it. Her body tensed again. Afraid of his reaction. Anyone working here knew better than to bring up the doctor’s past.

“It’s more or less the same story, though I didn’t move for love.” She looked at the man with a mix of shock and awe. Perhaps this man wasn’t as bad as they said. He gave her, what seemed, to be a genuine answer. “I’m not as bad as they say.” He told her. A thought went through her head. ‘Can this man for some reason read minds.’ “And I cannot read minds.” He said with a smile. Faba had come to expect their thoughts and found them predictably boring. He knew how to react to freak them out. 

“You start tomorrow at 8:00” He didn’t bother asking if she was up for the task. True she had said that others were more qualified and she was right but he wanted her. “You will show up on time every day. There are no sick days. When I tell you to leave. You leave. You shall ask no questions and do as your told. Is that understood?”

She wrinkled her face a bit. Half confused by the sudden list of orders and half still distracted by the ‘I cannot read mind’s comment. “Uh.. sure..”

Faba stood up and she did the same. As he escorted her back towards the door he thought to himself that out of the two of them. She would most likely prove to be the most difficult one. She was honest, yes, but she was also nervous. The fact that she had no family to speak off was a comforting thought. In case something would happen he at least didn’t have to deal with an explanation for the next of kin.

“I will see you tomorrow.” He told her before turning his attention to the male who was still waiting outside. He didn’t give her a chance to react. So she nodded and walked away with her face towards her. Not wanting to turn her back. After all, she still did fear the doctor and had heard all the rumors about… It was no matter now. She had to work for him starting tomorrow so she had to get used to him.

“Ji.”

“Sir?”

“Come.”

“Okay.”

To a stranger this conversation might sound like a terrible set up to a comedy act but Faba preferred it. No unnecessary questions. Just doing as he was told. Faba thought about Q and hoped the little loudmouth was doing okay. Perhaps he would contact them one day. When they were both in a safer place.

Ji seemed calm, relaxed even. Perhaps it was a façade. Perhaps he was really this laid back. Ji was older than Duri, he was well into his 30s. Nevertheless he looked quite handsome and younger than Faba probably ever did. If this was a different time, he would have been bothered by it but he had come to accept the way he looked.

“Should I sit?” Ji asked.

Faba just nodded. He seemed to have the opposite of Duri here. He was calm and wasn’t afraid of Faba all.

“I’m not afraid of you!” Ji said cheerfully. Now it was Faba’s turn to think the other male might be able to read thoughts. “I don’t see you as scary!” He smiled at Faba. His teeth were crooked. Faba let his own tongue slide over his own teeth. Thankful that he had that over the more attractive male in his presence.

“So, am I sick?” He asked as Faba took his seat in front of him.

“No, uh-“ The other’s excitement threw Faba off. “You’re fine. I want you to work for me.” Faba let out a sigh. He completely forgot his entire interview and cursed himself for it. Now he knew nothing about the other man other than what the file had told him already.

“Oh, good, because when I read the e-mail. I totally thought that I was sick! Could be though, right? Everyone gets sick every now and again!” He talked to Faba as if the two were friends catching up. Faba didn’t like it one bit but decided to change his tactic. If Ji thought they were friends then he wouldn’t mind a few personal questions.

“I’ve heard that you’re single again.”

Ji smiled deviously at Faba. “Are you interested?”

Faba gritted his teeth then smiled. “You’re not my type.” The urge to tell the other man to leave rising with every spoken sentence.

“Aw, you hurt me!” Ji faked being hurt. “But it’s all the better I think. It’s true. I’ve broken up with my partner. It was a long relationship too… I’m not ready to just start again, you know? It was a mutual decision.” He nodded then smiled again. “But hey! Look what it brought me. I can actually work with you!”

Faba didn’t like the fact that this man was so intrigued with him.

“Actually.. I sort of know you..” Ji started. “You know them as Q.. but they are a cousin of mine. They described someone like you so when you actually showed up here. I knew it had to be you. No one would fit their description better!”

Faba felt his body tense up. Q had told people about him.. that little runt. This was more proof to Faba that you should never trust anyone.

“Q said you were an amazing doctor! That you helped them for free! I knew I just had to befriend a kind person like that!”

Faba breathed again after unknowingly holding in his breath for a quite some time. So Q just told him that he was a doctor. Perhaps that wasn’t such a bad offense. Maybe Ji didn’t know what Q was up to and they had told Ji a lie on how they met. Faba decided to go with that for now. Q had just told Ji that he was a doctor and nothing more. After all, who was stupid enough to admit they worked for a criminal organization. Ironically enough the only person he could think of was Q. Faba decided that he best let sleeping dogs lay and not asked any questions that might prompt Ji to get suspicious of him and his cousin.

“Oh, I’m nothing special… I’m just doing what I was meant to do.” Faba explained.

“Ahaha you’re modest!” Ji laughed his crooked teeth bare. A genuine warm smile, Faba thought to himself. “But you want me to work for you?” Ji asked.

“Yes. You will be working with the lady from before. Her name is-“

“Duri! I know.” The other said, interrupting Faba again. “We’ve known each other for a while. We are just colleagues though. I just tend to remember names.” He took a look at Faba’s face before saying: “Ah, I won’t interrupt again! Sorry!” Faba sighed at the loud mouthed man. Truly Q and this person were family, there was no doubt.

“You will be working with her. You start at 8:00 in the morning tomorrow. You will show up on time every day. There are no sick days. When I tell you to leave. You leave. You shall ask no questions and do as your told. Is that understood?”

“You could have put it a bit nicer, doc. but I understand. Basically do as I am told!”

Faba turned his head to look out of the large window in his office. “Basically. See you tomorrow.” He didn’t bother walking the other male to the exit. The man was tiring and he needed a moment. He felt exhausted. When Ji left he took out a piece of paper from his desk and starting writing down the pro’s and con’s of staying with the Foundation. Regrettably the pro’s out weighted the con’s. He thought about today and the two people he chose to hire. Both seemed like a personification of a headache. Duri the kind that is barely there but you notice when you move your eyes. Fi was throbbing one. One that you really needed to lay down for.

Faba stretched his long body before letting out a loud sigh.

Surprisingly the trial period went find. Both did as they were told. First he would give them simple tasks, like giving the patients something to drink. Then he allowed them to help with the inventory. Finally they were allowed to help him when he was working. They would hand him items and he would use the items. That was as far he was willing to go and it was already far enough for him. The Foundation was pleased. Ji loved it. Duri had warmed up and Faba tolerated it. All in all it was a good arrangement.

At night he would work on his side projects. His assistants long gone. It was in a lab in the Foundation’s building. It wasn’t necessary secret. People knew it excited. It just was that no one was allowed there but him. His new pet project was going more smoothly than he had anticipated. For once his life seemed to be on track. It was only a matter of time before it would crumble down.

That moment came after 4 months of working with his assistants. Of course it was the loud mouth that ruined every thing. It’s always them. The quiet people don’t case a stir, but people who want to be seen, who want to be noticed. They ruin it for everybody.

It was after a mandatory party that every employee had to attend. Even Faba. He always told people that he rather not go but they wouldn’t had it. He was ‘part of the team’ and ‘should work on bonding with your colleagues.’ Every time such an event came he would stand there in the corner, drink in hand. Ignoring most people or answering short answer so they would leave him alone. He would keep an eye on his assistants as they freely spoke with others, clearly enjoying the fun.

Tonight was no different. They were busy. Everyone was busy, laughing, drinking having fun. He noticed that no one was really paying attention to him so he decided to sneak out. He had to check on something in the lab anyway. If someone asked where he was he would tell them a simple lie. He quickly entered the necessary passwords to enter the lab then swiped his card and walked in.

“That’s cool.” He heard a familiar voice behind him. “Never been in here though.” Faba tensed up. “Ji..” He looked behind him.

“Yep!” There was again smiling that foolish laugh. “Saw you walking away so I thought you didn’t feel so good.. but you went in here! Hehe, you didn’t even notice me!”

Faba realized that he indeed hadn’t noticed the other man. Was he so lost in thought? Or was Ji following him around and being careful not to get noticed. Whatever it was Faba didn’t have a lot of time to think about it. His project decided to act up and let out a beastly growl.

Ji’s smile faded a bit but traces of it where still there. “What’s that..?” He asked, a hint of hesitation in his voice.

“Nothing.” Faba lied. “You need to leave.”

“Can’t I see? C’mon, we’re like besties, right?”

Faba winched at the word. Suddenly he realized how much Ji annoyed him. His optimistic behavior. His smile, his general attitude. Faba tried to think about what he once liked about Ji but nothing came to mind. A feeling of digust started to spread through is body. This disrespecting, loud mouth vermin needed to be punished. Faba balled his hands into fists and tried to think about the last time he had his ‘therapy.’ Way too long he decided. He took a deep sigh then spoke with a warm voice. “Maybe I could show my best assistant something..” He smiled at Ji. He tried to make it look warm but in the dim light of the lab it probably looked creepy. Faba was too far gone to care.

“Okay.” Ji’s voice had a hint of fear in it. Perhaps he made a mistake to come here without permission. He inched closer towards the doctor.

Faba turned on the big lights. Whatever he was working on in the lab didn’t like it as it let out a large growl. “Please excuse that. It’s not used to sudden light.” Faba’s voice was calm and collected. Fatherly even. He nudged his head, signaling Ji to come closer.

Ji did as he was told. His fear growing bigger with every step he took. Then he saw what Faba wanted him to see. Before him he saw a grotesque creature chained to a wall. It resembled a human but it had too many arms and legs. It’s body language told Ji that it must be in great pain. It couldn’t speak. It had too many teeth to make coherent words anyway but the thing that irked Ji the most, were the eyes. He counted 14 eyes looking at him with desperation. Begging for death. “Doctor, I don’t-“ Fi’s sentence was cut short. He felt something hitting him in the neck. Then a tingle then incredible warmth. He felt his neck getting wet. He touched the painful spot with his hand and saw in horror that he was bleeding. The last thing he saw before losing conscious was a smiling Faba.

The beastly creature growled as he smelt the irony smell of blood fill the lab. “No, not yet. You can eat them later. I need something first. You see…” He said as he squatted over the still warm body. “Good employees are hard to find.. and even harder to keep. This dear just needed to be punished.” He stood up and gathered some tools and small bags. He removed a few teeth. Took some blood and cut off some hairs. “This should do.” He walked over to the creature and patted it a couple of times. “Now, clean this up, okay?” He undid the creature’s chain and watched warmly as it devoured what was left of Ji’s body. He sat down on the floor to watch the scene, fully enjoying the sound of bones being snapped and blood dripping onto the floor. “You’re really disgusting, you know that right?” He asked the creature. He held out his hand like a small child wanting to feed a barn animal. The creature noticed and walked over to him, rubbing part of the body that must be it’s head against Faba’s hand. “Good beastie.”

The next day Duri was understandably confused. “Won’t Ji join us today, sir?”

“No, he got sick, sadly. He will join us soon though.” Faba smiled at her. “I need you to pick up the pace to fill his gap until he returns.” She decided to leave it at that. Had the doctor forgotten about his own rule? No sick days? Or wasn’t that what he meant..? Duri didn’t want to find out. Even though they’ve been working with the doctor for months she still found him scary. She felt like he wasn’t telling the whole truth but who was she to disagree.

She worked with him alone for another 2 months before Ji finally returned. Something about him was off. He wasn’t his cheerful self and didn’t seem to remember her much. Faba explained that he was really sick and that his brain was damaged due to it, but he would be his old self soon. He also asked her to help him whenever she could. She agreed to his request. It wasn’t like she could refuse anyway. Still this new Ji was nothing like the old one. The body was the same but the entire personality was different. Whenever she tried to speak to him about what happened while he was sick he told her to leave it alone and that he barely remembers any of it. Duri couldn’t shake the feeling that Faba had something to do with it and she felt that she started to hate the doctor. He acted like a good man but surely there was more. She thought about every possible scenario to him sending Ji away for punishment to them secretly dating and the relationship going sour. Ji was a good man and now he was but a shadow of what he once was.

One day she decided it was enough. She was going to confront the doctor on what he did. They were cleaning up after a day of work when she spoke. “I know what you do in that lab of yours.” Her voice sounded like it was about to break but she kept a strong face. Faba stopped what he was doing and looked at her. “You do?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes, I know everything. I’ve been keeping an eye out you know..” She stopped talking as he walked towards her. Suddenly she realized how small she was compared to the doctor. She barely reached his chest. “You remind me of the one that gave birth to me.” He told her. His words were cold. “I-.. Thanks.” She didn’t think he meant it as a compliment but what else was she supposed to say.

Faba leaned over and smiled. “I’m actually glad you’ve found out! You see, the work down there is getting a bit out of hand and I could use you there as well. Of course… it’s after hours and I can’t pay you for the work you do there… because technically it’s a secret project.”

She felt herself getting trouble breathing but she inhaled sharply. She had to do this. For Ji. “Alright.”

He smiled at her and took her arm. Leading her through the building towards the lab. Neither of them said a word but Faba seemed happy. She on the other hand wished she never said anything. Her heart beating faster than she thought possible. She though that, if Faba took time to listen, he would hear her heart beat.

“Here we are!” He gleefully opened the door to the lab. “You might think me old-fashioned.. but after you.” He made a little bow as she walked past her. Every basic instinct told her to run. To get away. To scream but all she could do was walk forward.

The lab was clean and looked normal. Except for one thing. At the back of the lab lay something covered in a blanket. It was too large to be a human. A beast perhaps? It was breathing steadily like it was sleeping.

Faba clicked his tongue twice and the creature reacted. It threw it’s blanket off, revealing it’s grotesque form. Duri stumbled backwards into Faba who put his hands on her shoulders like he did so many months ago when he hired her. He was stronger than she had hoped and felt the pressure of his hands on her shoulders. It was quite painful but she was to distracted by what she saw. “What is..”

“That’s my old boss.” Faba told her. “See, he was a real jerk so I killed him.” Duri felt a cold shock go through her body. How could this person speak so lightly about taking a different person’s life? “Now, what is the biggest problem of killing someone or something?” He asked her. She felt that he was looking at her, his neck tilted forwards so that he could look down on her. “It makes you a murderer…?” She offered.

Faba let out a small chuckle. “No, only if you kill an actual person you are a murderer. See, I did the universe a favor by getting rid of this pest. No the answer I was looking for is that you cannot kill something again after has been killed.”

Duri’s entire body tensed up but he ignored it. “See, that’s my problem! That disgusting piece of vermin pretending to be human needed to be punished, but he died. So what am I to do?”

“Move on..?” Her voice was barely audible.

“No, that would be to easy. No creatures like him should really suffer. So you kill them again. And again. And again. For as long as it takes for them to learn.”

She finally moved her eyes from the creature towards him. “How..?”

“Oh, it wasn’t easy, let me tell you!” He spoke like he was explaining a new recipe that she simply had to try. “Cloning is something that is rarely done before and rarely done well. See beastie of there?” He released one of her shoulders from his grip to point. “It didn’t go well the first time and now I’ve got this. I’ve grown attached to it though, isn’t he just adorable?” The beast snarled and drooled at them both. “I’m so found of him.” Duri started to tremble as the doctor spoke about that abomination like it was his darling pet.

“I thought about killing him a couple of time but look into it’s eyes. You can’t say no to that. It’s changed up for it’s own protection. He will destroy the lab if I leave him be, the little rascal.” The beast looked desperate and dangerous. She couldn’t understand that he found this adorable.

“Now, I wouldn’t be a good doctor if I didn’t improve myself.” He grabbed both of her shoulders again and moved her towards a large door. “Open it.” He said warmly. She took the handle in her sweaty hands and opened the door like he asked. Her body shaking like a twig. When she opened the heavy door she saw two figures. Her eyes needed some adjusting to the dim light in there. One man she didn’t recognize but the other one was defiantly Ji.

She opened her mouth to shout his name but her shouts were muffled by the doctor’s hand. “Sssht…” He hushed her. “Don’t say anything. This is a blank.. I might need it later, both of them.” He pulled her out of the room and closed the door with his foot.

“See, you can’t talk to them because they don’t know anything yet. They are blanks. They are shells, they don’t remember anything about the person they were cloned from. The person you didn’t know. See that’s my old boss though now he’s my therapist.”

“Therapist..?” She managed to get out, her throat was feeling dry.

“Yes!” Faba told her. He was happy as could be. “I kill him whenever I feel the urge coming on. He might not remember it but I do and it relaxes him. His screams are the same as before.”

She felt hot tears burning behind her eyes. She knew that her time on earth was up.

He let his chin rest on her head, leaning over a bit. His hand still holding on to her shoulders. “But now we have a problem. See, you cannot stay here. Beastie won’t allow it.” The creature growled behind them. “Hush, dear, I’m working on it.. such an impatient creature.” He said loudly. “And I cannot let you go either..” The last part was a whisper.

She felt the tears streaming down her face. She wanted to beg. She wanted to plea but she couldn’t get a single word out.

He let one of her shoulders go again and dragged it across her throat. It took her a second to long to realize that that wasn’t his finger. She felt her neck becoming warm and wet as she started to gag on the liquid that filled her mouth and dripped down her chin. She felt herself becoming light in the head before passing out.

The creature growled again and Faba lowered her body to the ground. He prided himself in showing respect for the dead. “You are being very greedy today.” He told his pet. As with Ji he removed some blood, a few of her teeth and some hair.

“After all.. good employees are hard to find and even harder to keep.”


End file.
